Liquid soap dispensers incorporating timers to encourage users to wash their hands for a minimum time interval are known prior art.
An example of a hand operated version for personal use is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 6,832,916 issued Dec. 21, 2004 to Collopy, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The prior personal soap dispenser comprises a bottle shape container having a top dispensing aperture mounting a manually depressable plunger of a hand operated pump. The plunger is a tube having a handle forming top from which a dispensing spout extends forwards at right angles. Manual depression of the plunger dispenses a predetermined amount of soap from the container through the spout.
However the timing mechanism of the prior dispenser relies on affecting the rate of return of the plunger to determine the time interval and is permanently incorporated therein, requiring a dedicated design. Furthermore, the prior dispenser does not provide eyecatching, illuminated visual or audible means signaling the time interval to the user.